The Irish, beaten 57-15 by England, won in Cardiff for the first time since August 2015 after scoring three tries in the Rugby World Cup warm-up match, two for Jacob Stockdale and a penalty try bringing Wales' 11-game home winning streak stretching back to November 2017 to an end.

The two teams meet again next Saturday in Dublin and the defeat will rankle more with Gatland as he remains bitter about the manner in which he was dismissed as head coach by the Irish in 2001.

After nearly 10 years at the top, New Zealand’s reign as the number one team in the World Rugby Rankings is over.

Even though the All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup with a magnificent 36-0 victory against Australia at Eden Park in Auckland, Wales knew any form of victory against England at the Principality Stadium in the later of the two kick-offs would see them overtake the world champions.

Wales Online reports that Wales will play a series against the current back-to-back World Champions in 2020 after Pivac takes over from Warren Gatland following the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup.

Gatland, who has been in charge of Wales since 2007, is stepping down from the role to return to New Zealand, where he's expected to contend for the All Blacks job, as current coach Steve Hansen confirmed earlier this month he would not seek reappointment after the World Cup.